Housing corporation request for judge’s recusal tossed out

Fidelis Munyoro

THE Supreme Court has dismissed a motion seeking to disqualify a judge from hearing an appeal by National Social Security Authority (NSSA) challenging a High Court decision compelling it to pay Housing Corporation Zimbabwe (HCZ) US$30 million in a botched housing deal.

Justice Tendai Uchena was part of a three-judge panel that heard the matter, two years ago, along with Justices Susan Mavangira and Felistus Chatukuta.

In that case, the Appellant court dealt with a procedural irregularity that saw the matter being referred back to the lower court for a fresh hearing before a different judge.

Justice Uchena found himself again on the bench to hear the fresh appeal brought in September last year. This time, he sat with Justices Antonia Guvava and Samuel Kudya. This did not go down well with HCZ, which made an application to have Justice Uchena removed from the case.

But the Supreme Court rejected the attempt to have the judge recused from the case since the court in the previous matter did not deal with the merits of the case, but rather confined itself to a legal technicality.